Guide box



A ril 2, 1963' P. EPPENBERGER' GUIDE BOX 2 Sheets-Sheet 1' Filed Aug. 29, 1960 3,ll83,8li Patented Apr. 2, l9t3 hoe 3,083,865 GUlDE BOX Paul Eppenherger, Amriswii, Thurgau, Switzerland, as-

signor to Gebrueder Buehler, Uzwil, Switzerland, 21

Filed Aug. 29, 1960, Ser. No. 52,631 Ciairns priority, application Switzerland Aug. 23, 1959 6 @laims. (til. 193-47) This invention relates to guide boxes and, more particularly, .to guide boxes for plansifters.

In United States Patent 2,901,109 there is shown and described a plansifter for separating, assorting or classifying fractions of a product. In the apparatus of the patent, a plurality of superposed sifters and collector bottoms are disposed, with their sifting elements in horizontal planes, in a vertical casing. At the opposite sides of the vertical casing, guide boxes are fastened to the outer wall of the vertical casing. Each of the opposite walls of the Vertical casing is provided with ports or slots which form communication passages between the interior of the plansi-fter and the guide box. Seals or gaskets are fastened to the front of the guide box and are in contact with the casing wall sealing the guide box with the casing. Ports or slots are formed in the face of the guide box and are in register with the ports or slots in the casing wall.

The product to be separated, assorted or classified is fed into the top of the plansifter and is passed progressively downward and horizontally back and forth across preselected sifters. As the product passes horizontally across each siiiter, the fraction of the product which will pass through the Sifter screen falls through the screen and is collected on the collector bottom. The remaining fraction which, in the aforementioned patent, is termed overriding, is ejected outward through the port in the wall of the vertical housing into the guide box and, by a duct arrangement in the guide box, is fed back into the plansifter and across a lower sifter. Thus, the overriding material is fed first across one sifter, into a guide box, and back across a lower Sifter. Obviously, the number of times the override is fed back and forth through the plansifter, across lowerly disposed sifters, depends on the preset arrangement of the ducts in the guide boxes.

The selection of the sitters over which the product to be separated or classified is to pass, of course, depends on the properties of the particular product and the separation desired. Once the number and location of sitters is selected, the passage of the product through the plansifter can be programmed by presetting the position of the ducts in the guide boxes.

In guide boxes heretofore employed for this purpose, the positions of the ducts in the guide boxes have been relatively fixed and repositioning and relocating of the ducts to program the passage of the product through the plansifter has been difiicult.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved guide box for plansifters.

It is a further object of the invention to provide such a guide box in which the ducts may be easily and readily relocated and repositioned.

In the present invention a guide box, having a horizontally slotted face for engagement with the slotted wall of the plansi-fter casing, is formed with displaceable ducts for receiving the goods at one slot and deflecting and eturning the goods at a lower or subjacent slot. The displaceable ducts are formed by resilient bafiles of U- shaped cross section which are clamped in position at the outer rims of subjacent slots. By arranging the resilient baiiles in the slots of the guide boxes, the sifting operation for a particular product can be programmed and, after the sifting operation has been completed, the

resilient bafiles can be removed and relocated for programming of a different product.

Referring to the attached drawings showing one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 1 is a perspective view, partially cut away, showing a guide box according to the invention with the baffle in position;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation, partly in section, showing one arrangement of the ducts in the guide box;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation similar to FIG. 2 but showing a different arrangement of the ducts;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation, showing in enlarged detail, the baffle;

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of the bafile taken along the lines 5-5 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a rear view of a closure for a slot of the guide box wall;

FIG. 7 is a side view of the closure of FIG. 6.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a guide box having a rear wall 2 and side walls 4 and 6. Slate 8 extend across the face of the guide box and are attached at their opposite ends to walls 4 and 6 forming ports or openings 10 intermediate adjacent slats. Gaskets 12 of felt, or other suitable gasket material, are fastened to the outer face of slats 8 forming a seal with the face of the plan sifter casing when the guide box is in position and fastened thereto. Gaskets 12 are slightly narrower than the face of the slats 8, the edges of the gaskets being spaced away from the edges of the slats for reasons which will be more apparent hereinafter.

Referring now to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, baffie 14 of light weight resilient material is formed, at its opposite edges, with reinforcing sections 16, 18 (see FIG. 5), gasket 20 of felt or other suitable material being positioned in a recess 22 formed in the edges of baffle 14 in reinforcing portions 16, 18, respectively. As can best be seen in FIG. 5, when bafile 14 is in position, gaskets 222 form a seal between bafi'le 14 and the side walls 4, 6.

Reinforcing elements 16, 18 are terminated just short of the opposite ends of baffle 14. At its opposite ends, bathe 14 is turned outward, forming a U-shaped clamp 24 with the end of reinforcing elements 16, 18, respectively. Since baffle 14 is of resilient material, when in position as shown in FIG, 4, the U-shaped ends of the baffie are in clamping engagement with the edges of subjacent slats 8.

For selectively closing or shutting off slats It], in FIGS. 6 and 7 there is shown plate 30 of a size substantially equal to the size of the slot opening. Clamping element 32 slightly larger in size than plate 39 is positioned at one side of the plate and at the opposite sides are positioncd outer clamp members 34, 36, each having a length slightly longer than the width of plate 30. A bolt 38 having, at one of its ends, a head 40 and at its other end a wingnut 42 threaded thereon passes through plate 30 and clamping elements 32 and 34 or 36, respectively.

When in use, the guide box is clamped to the side wall of the vertically disposed plansitter, slots 10 in the guide box registering with corresponding slots on the plans'ifter Wall. When sifting operation is completed, the guide box may be removed and baffles 14 repositioned for a ditferent sifting program. The resilient baffles are easily removed by deflecting the U-shaped end of bafiie 14 out of engagement with the edge of slat 8, thereby uncoupling resilient bathe from the slat. The disengaged bathe may then be moved outwardly through slot 10 and may be reinserted through another slot and engaged with the edges of slats 8.

In the programming of some materials it may be desired to allow the overriding rnaterr'fl to fall downwardly in the guide box. This may be easily accomplished by omitting the baffle at the particular slot leaving the slot open and in communication with the interior of the guide box. In other programming it may be desired to eliminate or close one or more of the slots. This is easily acare spaced from each other. Where the slots are spaced,

two bafiles of different lengths are employed to form a duct between the spaced slots. The bafiles and ducts may be removed and reinstalled with the minimum in time, effort and delay.

What is claimed is:

1. A guide box for use on a plansifter comprising, a first wall, a second wall spaced from and disposed parallel to said first wall, a plurality of slats fastened at one of their ends to said first wall and at their opposite ends to said second wall, said slats being fastened at spaced intervals to said walls to form openings therebetween, and a resilient bafile in clamping engagement with said slats, said bathe extending from the marginal edge of one of said slats to the marginal edge of another of said slats and means at the opposite marginal edges of said baffle in engagement with said first and second Walls forming a seal between said battle and said walls.

2. A guide box for use on a plansifter comprising, a first wall, a second wall spaced from and disposed parallel to said first Wall, a plurality of slats fastened at one of their ends to said first wall and at their opposite ends to said second wall, said slats being fastened at spaced intervals to said Walls to form openings into said box therebetween, and a plurality of resilient bafiles in clamping engagement with said slats, each of said baffies extending from the marginal edge of one of said slats to the marginal edge of another of said slats, means at the opposite marginal edges of said bafiles in engagement with said first and second walls forming a seal between said baffies and said walls, said bafiles being positioned on said slats to form ducts from a first opening between said slats to a second opening.

3. A guide box for use on a plansifter comprising, a first wall, a second wall spaced from and disposed parallel to said first wall, a plurality of slats fastened at one of their ends to said first wall and at their opposite ends to said second wall, said slats being fastened at spaced intervals to said walls to form ports of uniform size and spaced at equal intervals into said box, a plurality of resilient baffies in clamping engagement at their opposite ends with said slats, each of said bafiles extending from the marginal edge of one of said slats to the marginal edge of another of said slats, the ends of said baffles in engagement with said slats extending outwardly onto the front face of said slats, said baffies having an enlarged reinforcing portion at their opposite edges, means in said reinforcing portion in engagement with said walls forming a seal between said baflles and said walls, said baffles being positioned on said slots to form ducts from a first port to a second port and means engageable with the marginal edges of adjacent slats for selectively sealing off a port.

4. In a guide box as recited in claim 3, said enlarged reinforcing portions at the opposite marginal edges of said bafiles extending from a point adjacent one end of said baffle to a point adjacent the opposite end of said bafile, said outwardly extending end of said bafiie and the end of said enlarged reinforcing portion forming a U- shaped clamp for engagement with the edge and opposite faces of said slat.

5. In a guide :box as recited in claim 3, said means for selectively sealing off a port comprising a plate of a size substantially equal to the size of said port, a clamping element on one side of said plate, said clamping element being larger than said port, a member at the opposite side of said plate and means extending through said plate, said clamping element and said member for locking said plate in said port.

6. A guide box for use on a plansifter comprising, a first wall, a second wall spaced from and disposed parallel to said first wall, a plurality of slats fastened at one of their ends to said first wall and at their opposite ends to said second wall, said slats being fastened at spaced intervals to said walls to form openings therebetween, and a resilient baffle of substantially U-shaped section in clamping engagement with said slats, said bafile extending from the marginal edge of one of said slats to the marginal edge of another of said slats and means at the opposite marginal edges of said bafile in engagement with said first and second walls forming a seal between said bafile and said walls.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 582,571 Ziegler May 11, 1897 969,372 Hottel Sept. 6, 1910 1,065,539 Evans Aug. 5, 1913 1,440,316 Peirce Dec. 26, 1922 1,964,468 Irvine June 26, 1934 

1. A GUIDE BOX FOR USE ON A PLANSIFTER COMPRISING, A FIRST WALL, A SECOND WALL SPACED FROM AND DISPOSED PARALLEL TO SAID FIRST WALL, A PLURALITY OF SLATS FASTENED AT ONE OF THEIR ENDS TO SAID FIRST WALL AND AT THEIR OPPOSITE ENDS TO SAID SECOND WALL, SAID SLATS BEING FASTENED AT SPACED INTERVALS TO SAID WALLS TO FORM OPENINGS THEREBETWEEN, AND A RESILIENT BAFFLE IN CLAMPING ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID SLATS, SAID BAFFLE EXTENDING FROM THE MARGINAL EDGE OF ONE OF SAID SLATS TO THE MARGINAL EDGE OF ANOTHER OF SAID SLATS AND MEANS AT THE OPPOSITE MARGINAL EDGES OF SAID BAFFLE IN ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID FIRST AND SECOND WALLS FORMING A SEAL BETWEEN SAID BAFFLE AND SAID WALLS. 